Did We Do It?


A lot happened in May, and blogging everyday was certainly mostly one of them!
Throughout all the month, the different upload time, the general brain fog, the forgetting to push the publish button and forgetting 5 times in a row (actually happened at the end of the month oops) and a lot of breakdowns later - did we do it? Eh, mostly .. I'm proud of how far I managed to get through, and that's what counts right? 

But now it's over what's going to be happening in June?

I'm going to be taking a lovely 1 week break (ish) from blogging - and here's what blog posts to be expecting in June

- One Click Coffee Box
- Dog & Hat
- Untold Coffee (THE RETURN!!!)
- Birmingham Coffee Festival
- ECOcoffee

Plus maybe a few extra little posts 


I hope you enjoyed Blogging Everyday In May, all 23 days of it, and maybe next year we'll actually complete it (third times the charm right?) 



The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me












Moonroast - Rwanda Karisimbi

A company that has been taking the coffee industry by storm recently, is Moonroast - and like many coffee companies, it was definitely on my list to try. 

So when Dan sent me a message on Instagram asking if he could send me a sample of coffee, how could I say no?


They very kindly sent me a 100g sample of their Rwanda, Karisimbi 
and boy, it's pretty freaking delicious 




The beans - 
Rwanda Karisimbi
Region: Gicumbi, Northern Province 
Farm: Karisimbi 
Variety: 100% Red Bourbon
Process: Washed
Altitude: 2000-2200 metres above sea levels
Medium Roast
Taste Notes: Apricot, Orange and Florals, with hints of Vanilla 



V60 Brew



17g of Coffee
280ml Water
25 second bloom with 40g of water 
40g first pour, 120g second pour, 120 third pour
Total brew time 3 minutes



Tasting 
When brewing this coffee, I could smell the floral hints coming through, like the smell the first taste you get is the super florally mouthfeel and gorgeous fruity hints, with some citrus acidity this is a super delicious coffee, as it cooled, you definitely get more citric and floral mouthfeel along with the citric acidity. 
This was definitely an amazing coffee to start my love relationship with Moonroast with - and a coffee from Moonroast was included in the May One Click Coffee subscription box, so look forward to that post next month 



Have you tried Moonroast? 


Find Moonroast here
Buy Rwanda Karisimbi - here
Website - here
Instagram - here
Twitter - here







The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me





Girls Who Grind Coffee GIVEAWAY

ITS TIME FOR THE LAST GIVEAWAY IN MAY!! 



If you ever not been keeping up to date, I have done not just one but 3 giveaways over on my Instagram in May.

For my last giveaway during May I am giving away one of my favourite coffees from Girls Who Grind Coffee / Nicaragua Jinotega 



So for this giveaway I am giving away - 
One 250g whole bean Nicaragua Jinotega
One super cool temporary tattoo sheet



This giveaway will have the same rules as the last two and will be running on Instagram again


What you'll need to do to enter
Head over to my Instagram (here)
Follow me on said Instagram
Like the giveaway post
Comment & tag a friend



The Coffee Life


head over to my social media page on where to find me





Anxiety and Self Promotion

It's no secret at all that I am shocking at self promotion, which in turn, makes me a terrible business woman and not to mention blogger.
I even made it a goal this year to get better at self promotion - but almost 6 months in, nothing has changed and I am just as bad.


I find it really difficult to believe in my work, believe that it's good enough to share, and believe that no one will judge me for putting out the work I do.

My anxiety has definitely been higher since I've started my Blog Everyday In May because I'm really having to push myself to promote my blog every way possible, not to get validation but because I am proud of what I am achieving by blogging everyday.




I've spoken to quite a few people, not just in the coffee industry but other bloggers and "influencers" and I am shocked at how many people also feel the same about how anxiety affects the way they can self promote - to the point where some people even feel embarrassed about there work, and trust me when I say I've been there, done that, deleted the posts



So I'm setting a challenge, for myself - but if you find yourself like me, struggling with self promotion, have a crack at this challenge, we can surprise ourselves just by our mindsets. 





1. Have no ZERO days - what I mean by "zero days" is having no days where you haven't done one single thing towards self promotion - this can be a simple tweet, an Instagram post or even a pin for Pinterest 



2. Keep a journal on positive things, positive notes and feedback you've received from people commenting on your work - this could be on a product, on a blog post, or an Instagram


3. Positive affirmations about your business - there are so many boards on Pinterest dedicated to business affirmations, and this could be as simple as "my business is doing well today" 


4. Remember that your mindset is everything - if you believe something you've created is crap, and you don't pour your whole entire heart into it, it'll show. Be positive about what you're creating, pour love, and put your entire heart and soul into it, and truly believe that you are making yourself proud, and you will be 


5. The only thing that is stopping you is fear - don't fight fear, but learn to look past it










The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me




The Best Coffee Apps You Need

Finding a great app is like finding a needle in a haystack now-a-days - finding a good coffee app, now that's even harder


But over the last year I've made it my mission to find a small handful of some of the best coffee apps out there - so here is a small list of 4 of the best coffee apps that YOU need 






We'll start off with the Best Coffee App




Best Coffee App


*taken from the best coffee app store description*
Overview: Good Coffee Only
Best Coffee is your trusted guide to the speciality scene. We know that you value your time and your money and this app will show you at a glance all the cafes near you that serve coffee worth seeking out.
With reviews, maps and news. Best Coffee is here to ensure that coffee never leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You can relax in the knowledge that our experts have tested every cafe listed, gathering all the information you need. We have regular updates and new cafes are listed all the time.


How much is the app? 
The app has both free features as well as having the option to upgrade to premium 


Free options features:
- Search cafes near you
- Filter results by personalised preferences 
- Read cafe reviews by professional writers
- Browse news and features written by coffee experts


Premium options - £2.99 a year - (that's right, a year!!!)
- Explore close to 2000 cafes in cities around the world
- Save and share favourites with friends 
- Enjoy cafe promotions designed to surprise and delight you



The Best Coffee app is a must have if you travel and love exploring new coffee shops, but also like to know what to expect when you walk in (I am definitely that person) - it's super helpful in every aspect, letting you know which cafes have good options for what you're looking for, from if it serves decaf, has dairy free options and even what kind of machine and grinder the cafe uses.
It is well worth the £2.99 every year! 




Barista On Tap



*taken from the barista on tap app store description* 
Connecting speciality coffee shops with highly skilled baristas.
Tailored especially for the speciality coffee industry Baristas On Tap is the best place to access fully trained baristas to cover the gaps in your rota.
If you're a coffee shop, you can use the app by following the simple steps - Upload one or more of your shops to the app and book as many shifts that are needed.
Receive updates instantly when a barista picks up your open shift.
When the shift is completed you can help improve the service by rating your barista to ensure a high quality of service is delivered at all times.
If you've enjoyed using a specific barista you can book that same person again at the end of their shift.
Use the app to view, download, and manage your invoices.
If you're a barista you can use the app by following the simple steps - Upload your CV and wait to be approved. Someone from the team will be in touch if there are any issues.
Receive updates instead when customer posts an open shift.
Before taking a shift you can view the location, equipment and coffee you will be using.
When the shift is completed you can help improve the service by rating your experience to ensure a high quality of service is delivered at all times.
Use the app to generate and then view, download or manage your invoices.



As a barista, I think this app is the most incredible invention for the ever-growing coffee industry - and as someone who eventually wants to step away from full time cafe work and dabble a bit with freelance sometime in the future, and what a way to do it. 
I cant wait for this app to come to the south-west because you best believe I'll be using the app to its full potential instead of wishing I lived closer to where all the action is happening. 
All you need to sign up is your CV and a few details, it's an incredible app with so many amazing opportunities





Coppee Timer



*taken from the coppee app store description*
Create and run your favourite coffee recipes with this intuitive coffee timer.
Eliminate variables and master the craft with Coppee - Coffee Timer.
Features:
- Custom coffee recipes
- Included coffee recipes for V60, chemex, aeropress, french press and moka pot
- Touch-based coffee timer controls

Details:
- Create recipes, create your own custom coffee recipes, or choose from a set of included coffee recipes for your favourite brewing devices
- Customise, find the perfect coffee to water ratio, grind size, and water temperature. Name and describe each recipe step and set the runtime
- Run, a touch based coffee timer allows you to easily start and pause. It also guides you along the brewing process.

You can also pay £1.49 to remove ads from the app

If you've read my blog for a while, you'll know I rely heavily on the app- it's super simple and easy to use, and for storing recipes, it's a god-send. I love to play around with recipes, seeing what coffee/water ratios and timings work best, and being able to store and run coffees on this app has made my life a hell of a lot easier. 





Coffee Flavour Wheel


*taken from the coffee flavour wheel app store description*
Barista grade coffee flavour wheel in tree format.
This is an easy to use, simple to understand coffee flavour wheel thanks to the Speciality Coffee Association of America.
The app is free to use. The information is extracted from Coffee Taster's Flavour Wheel (2016) and World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon (first edt. 2016) from SCAA and WCR

You can pay £0.69 to remove ads on the app


This app is everything it says on the tin - and despite being a very simple app, it is so incredibly helpful, it's always handy to have a flavour wheel accessible when you're tasting coffee. In fact I rely on it, if I'm tasting a coffee and struggling to determine specific hints, I go straight to this app, go to the section I know I'm tasting and go down the list to determine what flavour I'm tasting.
If you're a barista, or a general coffee snob this is a must have coffee app!





Do you have any coffee apps you swear by? Let me know in the comments, or over on Instagram 






The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me




 













Bad Hand Coffee - Rwanda

Another coffee roasters that is always on my go to list is Band Hand Coffee - roasted in Bournemouth it's another roastery that is super close to my home and they also hold some pretty sick latte art throwdowns.



One coffee that they kindly gave me after their last throwdown (yup, that's how long this blog post has been sat in my drafts!!) was this super gorgeous Rwandan



As soon as you open the bag you get the super fruity and floral scents - which sets you up for how delicious the coffee is going to be.





The beans -

Rwanda - Gatare Lot 23
Varietal - Red Bourbon
Process - Natural
Taste Notes - Plum, Vanilla, Fig, Dark Chocolate 


Brewed through V60 (which I favoured over aeropress!!) 

18g of coffee
300ml of water
2 minute 45 second total brew
25 second bloom with 75ml of water

Ratio of 1:16 







The aroma's whilst brewing are sweet and fruity - much like the taste notes of the coffee, its super light, fruity and syrup-like, as it cooled it had more notes of chocolate, with some dark chocolate acidity when cooler. 
This is a super delicious light brew and perfect for when you need a super fruity pick me up 




Bad had have some amazing coffees on offer, from blends, single origins and decaf - and what I love about Bad Hand is that they also supply their coffee to zero waste stores, where you can go in with your own jars and buy coffee's that way - I haven't bought any of my own yet, but I'll be sure to when I'm low on coffee. Making it accessible in zero waste stores is an incredible step to introducing people outside of the coffee industry, to amazing coffee



Find Bad Hand Coffee here







The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me













10 Aeropress Recipes You Should Try

Much like my last post (read here) was all about V60 recipes, it was only fitting to do an aeropress post as well - so here are a good few aeropress recipes worth trying 






1 -

25g of Coffee
75g of Water
45 second total brew time

Ratio of 1:3




2 - 

16g of Coffee 
255g of Water
1.55 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:15




3 -

17g of Coffee
225ml of Water
2.20 Minute total brew time

Ratio of 1:13




4 - 

14g of Coffee
245ml of Water
2 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:17




5 - 

19g of Coffee
240ml of Water
2.25 Minute total brew time

Ratio of 1:12





6 - 

22g of Coffee
250ml of Water
1.45 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:11





7 - 

16g of Coffee
225ml of Water
2 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:14




8 - 

9g of Coffee
200ml of Water
2.20 Minute total brew time

Ratio of 1:22




9 -

18g of Coffee
230ml of Water 
1.55 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:12




10 -

19g of Coffee
240ml of Water
1.45 Minute total brew time 

Ratio of 1:12










The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me





10 V60 Recipes You Should Try

One thing I always find difficult is finding new recipes to play around with for V60's - recently I've been jotting down every single recipe I've tried and tested and I think that work well, so I thought I'd share them







1 - 

23g of Coffee
320ml of Water 
3.05 Minute total brew time
25 second bloom with 65ml 

Ratio of 1:13




2 - 

24g of Coffee
305ml of Water
3 Minute total brew time 
30 second bloom with 50ml

Ratio of 1:12




3 - 

26g of Coffee
320ml of Water
3.10 Minute total brew time
35 second bloom with 75ml 

Ratio of 1:12




4 - 

24g of Coffee
275ml of Water
2.40 Minute total brew time
25 second bloom with 70ml

Ratio of 1:11




5 - 

23g of Coffee 
300ml of Water
2.45 Minute total brew time
30 second bloom with 50ml

Ratio of 1:13




6 -

20g of Coffee 
320ml of Water 
2.35 Minute total brew time
25 second bloom with 50ml

Ratio of 1:16




7 - 

21g of Coffee
275ml of Water
2.45 Minute total brew time
30 second bloom with 65ml

Ratio 1:13





8 - 

14g of Coffee
250g of Water
2.35 Minute total brew time 
25 second bloom with 50ml

Ratio 1:17 





9 - 

16g of Coffee 
275ml of Water 
3 Minute total brew time
30 second bloom with 75ml 

Ratio 1:17 





10 -

18g of Coffee 
300g of Water
2.45 Minute total brew time 
25 second bloom with 75ml

Ratio 1:16 









The Coffee Life

head over to my social media page on where to find me